The present invention relates to network based commerce systems. Network based commerce systems enable sellers to submit information about their products and wares to a central server, thereby making it widely accessible to potential buyers communicating with the server. The information submitted by the sellers is organized, stored and presented to buyers as a database of listings, which may then be easily browsed and searched by the buyers. Network based commerce systems employ multiple price setting mechanisms for pricing items listed in the database. One price setting mechanism is the seller-fixed price. The seller-fixed price is published along with the item listing information, and a transaction may be automatically executed by a buyer agreeing to purchase the item for that price.
An auction price-setting mechanism is also commonly used for establishing a market price for a listed item. A listed item being sold under the auction model, would be published as such, and would include specific auction details, such as minimum bid price, auction end date, etc. Bidders browsing auction items may submit bids, and compete against other bidders that are bidding for the same item. Typically, at the auction end date, the highest bidder wins the item.
A third pricing-setting mechanism is the buyer-proposed price. A potential buyer interested in a particular listed item would submit an offer consisting of an amount he's willing to pay for the item. The offer is then communicated to the seller, which either accepts or rejects the offer. The seller generally has the option of immediately executing on the buyer proposed-offer, thereby immediately effectuating a transaction between the buyer proposing the offer and the seller.
A particular challenging aspect in existing network-based commerce systems is the ability to employ two or more pricing mechanisms for a single item. Different pricing methods appeal to different buyers and it would be desirable to have them simultaneously available for the same items.